Man...They Work Hard

 My wife and I went out for Date Night a few hours ago. We decided to go to the closest restaurant to our house and pick up dinner. We waited in line. We ordered, then we sat down and waited while three employees prepared our dinners.

Man...they work hard.

Not only did they have several waiting in line for their food, but the establishment also has a drive-thru option...something I did not know about (next time I think we'll use that so we don't have to get out of our van in a rainstorm...). I watched those three employees putting together meals as fast as they could. If you live in an area like mine, you probably see "Help Wanted' signs on almost every restaurant and fast food place nowadays. Truth be told--I wouldn't want that job.

I know that many of these fast food jobs are starter jobs, places where people can get an appreciation for hard work, to manage money, and to learn that not all jobs are the same--maybe you can find a career you not only like, but can excel in. These jobs are important and they play a role in our society.

My wife and I worked hard today...hard manual labor/moving rocks/shoveling dirt/pulling weeds work. We're putting in our yard and we've got one week until the grass shows up. We have to be ready. Tomorrow we'll probably do the same thing. Both my wife and I were tuckered out as we sat and watched these employees make our dinners.

"That's hard work," I told my wife. She agreed. Tonight, I'm so glad people are willing and able to do those jobs--especially tonight...the food was delicious.

Remember...Don't Overload

 It's Garbage Night...or, more technically, Pre-Garbage Day. Before I go to bed tonight I'll need to do a sweep of the house and empty trash cans in the bedrooms and bathrooms. That way, depending on when the garbage truck arrives tomorrow morning, I won't need to worry about it.

The other day in the mail, we received a flyer...one of those "To Current Resident" mailers all current residents get. It was from the city reminding us of the rules when it comes to proper garbage can etiquette. One thing, however, caught my attention...

Containers CANNOT be overloaded.

Good metaphor for life.

Today I found another one of those memories that I posted on this day a few years ago. It just happened to be a picture of an obviously overloaded garbage can, overloaded with tall grass. Truth be told, I did not the leave the garbage can that way--I did break down all those tall grasses so it fit...well, sort of fit. I don't think Tremonton City would have approved how the garbage can turned out that day.

Yes...like containers, it's not good to be overloaded...at least, not too much anyway.

Congrats To Jim...And His Wonderful One-Year Old Baby!

 If you know Jim Christian, you know certain things about him. You know he's a passionate individual--passionate about many things. He loves the theater. He loves music. He loves laughing. He loves creating magic and getting the most out of those he directs and teaches...

And he loves Disney...all things Disney.

So, when I heard Jim was going to start a podcast about all things Disney, I knew certain things. I knew he'd make it as professional and entertaining as possible. I knew he'd try and share his love of Disney to as many people as possible. I knew he'd have wonderful guests and he'd make those guests's experience as fun as possible--for both them and the audience.

And I knew he'd stick with it.

Today marks the one-year anniversary of Jim's podcast, That Old Mouse Magic Podcast. If I missed any episodes, it wasn't many. There's much I've learned about Disneyland, Walt Disney World, the other theme parks across the globe, and the other Disney venues, cruise ships, resorts, etc. I've learned about which rides are the best, a lot of history behind the parks, the rides, and the food. And I'm not a self-described "Disney geek" and still enjoy the stories and the memories of others.

The hardest part of any venture is dedication. Jim is a busy man. I'm sure there's other things he could do--other things that also bring joy to people, but he's continued pushing out episodes, doing interviews, even creating an online store for his show. And it doesn't sound like he's slowing down a bit.

Congratulations Jim! May you keep that magic flowing.

Sometimes...We Wish We Could Have Chickens

 Back where we used to live, we could have raised chickens. We had enough land to have chickens, but we never pulled the trigger. There were times we thought about raising goats or other animals. We did not have enough land for that.

When we found the area where we wanted to move, we revisited the "maybe we should get chickens" idea. The new area is even more of a rural area than where we lived. Lots of chickens, horses, goats, sheep, even llamas up here. We found a house with enough land to put up a chicken coop (maybe one similar to that found in the picture...).

Problem...

One of the rules for the subdivision is: no chickens.

Raising chickens is like other things that require time and effort. Before, I kept thinking about what would be do with the chickens if we were to go out of town for a week. We'd need to get someone to take care of the animals when we were gone. The funny thing is, if we had gotten chickens at the old house, we'd never have to get anyone to watch the chickens because we really never left for any extended period of time. Now, that chance is over.

No more chickens.

Sometimes...Time Stands Still

I did a little surfing today on social media today. I was reminded of a picture I took in the past. When I saw the picture today and especially when I saw the date when I took the picture, it kind of shocked me. The picture I took seven years ago, but--in my opinion--it could have been taken yesterday. Just for comparison, I did take a picture of my daughter on her twenty-first birthday last month.

Two pictures separated by seven years.

Time appears to be standing still.

Another group of photos illustrated my point, but to a lesser degree. This time, it's me that's the subject of two photos. I opened up an e-mail account I had not accessed in years, my student e-mail account at Weber State University. When I went to "settings" there was a picture of me. Once again, I was taken back a little. This picture was used on my student I.D. card when I started graduate school...

In 2007.

The difference between my two pictures is fourteen years so there's more of a difference. I'll bet, though, if I take a picture of my daughter seven years from now, she'll most likely look almost exactly the same.

Time, of course, will tell.

New Holland Boomer 24...I Sing Your Praises

 

Sure, I'd driven and operated a backhoe before, but never as if the job depended on it--there were always better operators who could make that incredible machine literally move mountains, albeit small ones. But I had never been tasked with the responsibility of taking a piece of equipment and putting in a yard.

I must say, renting the New Holland Boomer 24 from Butters Equipment was a Godsend.

It was funny--we saw the tractors waiting to be rented in the parking lot of Butters Equipment. You just needed to pull up your truck and drive it away. Problem--we have no truck. No problem--Ryan at Butters said he'd be glad to drop it off at our house. It arrived at 8am and with only a few breaks, we worked that Boomer 24 until 4pm. It ran like a charm.

First, we picked up and relocated rocks...lots of rocks. When the top soil showed up, the rock relocater became the dirt depositor. We ordered 24 yards of top soil. Now, that top soil is spread out over three sides of our house. In the next two weeks we'll be raking, shoveling, and spreading it out, smoothing it, creating a carpet pad for grass.

We could have moved it by wheelbarrow and that would have taken days, or even weeks. The Boomer 24 handled the project with ease. And, because the wheelbase of the 24 is relatively narrow, I could maneuver the blue beast nimbly around buried sprinklers already in place. Yes...I'm a fan.

When Ryan dropped off the 24, I casually asked him what a New Holland Boomer 24 costs. He said around $15k, give or take. Now, we don't have that kind of money to spend on a tractor, but if I did...we'd have a shiny 24 in our garage right now. But since we don't, we'll have to rent it again...

If the need arises.

Some People Still Make Beautiful Things...

 My son and his wife found some amazing and beautiful gifts to give my wife and mother-in-law on Mother's Day this year. They know local artists who create pottery. They bought some of that pottery as gifts.

Beautiful.

I've always thought that humans have an innate urge to create, be it art, an impact, even children. Everyone...on some level...creates. We create memories for others and ourselves. Some create miracles and some create problems. Actually, I guess we all do both.

And some make pottery. I suppose when we start out making our art, we think about how many people is it going to reach. Will there be a huge demand, or any demand at all? And if the demand is big, will you make money--serious money--from your hard work? And if that happened, would they sell out for a big payday and allow others to mass produce their art? Artists think about these things. I know I do from time to time. Then again, if you're only making art for the money, you're sort of cheating in a way...cheapening the process.

Looking at the gifts from my son and daughter-in-law, I thought of the Rasmussens, putting in the work, creating amazing things. It renewed my faith in humanity a little bit more.